EYES ON THE SKY

Unexplained flying objects cause chaos in post–World War II Roswell, New Mexico.

Twelve-year-old Dorothy Duncan is accustomed to finding solace in the sky. Several years ago, when Ma was sick, Pa was ineffectually pursuing get-rich plans, and older brother Dwight was a trainee pilot in the Army Air Forces, Dorothy took to climbing the dilapidated windmill on her family’s forlorn ranch and firing rockets into the air. Now, with her parents dead and her brother resentful about being forced to come home to care for her, she’s grown more reckless. She launches a weather balloon in a thunderstorm—and two subsequent explosions make her fear that she’s accidentally brought down a plane from the nearby Roswell military base. When Dorothy and her schoolmate Hugo Martinez search the desert for potentially identifiable wreckage, they find otherworldly debris—and curious Dorothy takes something that the strangers want back. Part gritty historical fiction, part The War of the Worlds, the novel uses adventure and science fiction to make some pointed observations about the effects of war. Some characters feel less fully rounded and slightly more like plot devices, but Dorothy, Hugo, and the place they call home are vividly rendered. Most characters are cued white or Latine.

A courageous hero and some unexpected twists make for a compelling read.